Festive spinach, goat cheese & cranberry spanakopita
Ingredients
FILLING
320g baby spinach leaves
¾ tsp sea salt
200g feta cheese
125g soft goat cheese or curd
1 medium egg, beaten
4 spring onions, finely sliced
12g parsley, chopped
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
80g dried cranberries
¾ tsp chilli flakes
1/3 nutmeg, freshly grated
¼ tsp black pepper
1 lemon
Filo pastry case
100g butter
12 sheets filo pastry
Nigella seeds
Pinch of sea salt
Spicy yogurt dip
120g Yogurt
2 tsp pomegranate or rose harissa
1 tsp runny honey
Pinch of sea salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan).
Place the spinach in a mixing bowl, sprinkle over the salt and scrunch together until the leaves start to collapse.
Combine the goat’s cheeses, egg, spring onions, parsley, thyme, dried cranberries, chilli flakes, nutmeg and black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add the zest from half a lemon and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Mix well.
Transfer half of the spinach to a clean towel, pull up into a bag and squeeze out all the water. Repeat for the other half. Place the spinach in the mixing bowl with rest of the filling, and mix.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a low heat. When melted, brush 2 sheets of filo pastry with the butter and add one-sixth of the filling along one long edge. Don’t overfill or pack tightly and leave 3 cm unfilled at both ends. Roll into a sausage, gently twist into a coil, and fold the end underneath securely. Patch up breaks with strips of filo. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with nigella seeds.
Bake on a wire rack for 30 minutes until golden.
Mix the yoghurt, harissa and honey in a bowl. Add a pinch of sea salt and whisk.
Serve the pies with the dip and rocket.
Makes 6 individual pies or 1 large pie for sharing
